TACOMA, Wash.  Two minutes of sustained pressure and near misses at the end of the game just wasn't enough to overcome a two-goal deficit as visiting Whitman College dropped a 2-0 decision to host University of Puget Sound in a women's soccer Northwest Conference opener at the 20th-ranked Loggers' Peyton Stadium.

The Whitman defense, spearheaded by goalkeeper Haley Case's seven saves, for the most part quieted a Loggers attack that had scored 10 goals in its past three outings. In the first half alone, Case came up with six stops against one goal allowed in the ninth minute of action.

Late in the contest Whitman (0-5, 0-1 NWC) finally found a rhythm in its attack and began to own possession.

A corner kick opportunity from Chelsea Day sparked a flurry of shots over the final two minutes. The set piece resulted in Whitman's best chance of the day as Lena de Guzman mightily tested Loggers keeper Lauren Thomas.

Less than a minute after Thomas' save Whitman regained possession in its attacking third again, a thrust that ended with Sophie Brussell's shot that skirted above the crossbar and a leaping Thomas.

With time running out but still desperate for at least one score Day rocketed a shot that might have beaten Thomas but the attempt peeled paint off the outside of the right post as time expired, ending Whitman's furious finish.

The game's opening goal come from Puget Sound's Jacquelyn Anderson who completed a cross from the right side to sneak one past Case.

Not until the early moments of the second half were the Loggers (4-1, 1-0) able to gain breathing room as they mimicked their early goal with Grayson Williams-Krebs converting a cross from the right back across the frame inside the left post in the 49th.

Whitman continues to search for its first win of the season Sunday when it visits NWC foe Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland, Washington, for a 12 p.m. contest.